Once the clips are removed, the mask must be separated from the wafer. The current method for doing so is a manual process in which the operator peels the mask from the wafer by hand. In the past, the thickness and hole density in the masks were not enough to cause much difficulty in removing the mask; the operator could manually remove them without much effort. As technology advanced, so did the trend to make components smaller and thinner, resulting in a less structurally sound and more delicate mask product. Delicate masks carry a greater expense and have proven to be easier to damage during the manual removal process. The more delicate masks have made the removal operation more difficult, creating new problems. Damaged shadow masks can greatly affect production costs due to limited availability or the requirement to have high inventories. It would be beneficial to automate both the clip removal and the mask removal process.